Basics

The Basics

The controls displayed in the options menu is pretty much all you need to rumble. The instruction manual (while slim) should be all you need. Our commands guide will reveal any other details you need.

If you've played war-simulation shooters before, you will find Operation Flashpoint Dragon Rising quite refreshingly challenging (and lengthy). Seriously, you ... need ... help in how to aim and fire?

Until you've gone through the campaigns on Normal, don't try Hardcore. All the difficulties are the same (damage wise), but the presence of checkpoints in Normal means you can "refill" your life and slain fire team soldiers easily in addition to having an interim save while going through a mission.

If you seriously need some more pointers on the basics, turn on the tutorial for the first mission in single-player. It is actually the easiest mission to complete (since it has no time limit and enemy forces are light).

Use the first mission to get used to your various commands, engagement options, and other equipment. Aside from portable SAMs (which simply require a diamond lock-on), you can find "Queen Bees" from slain soldiers and a Javelin launcher near the northern SAM site (lighthouse) to practice zapping vehicles.

Weapons in the game are generally limited to what you can find on enemies due to "logistical issues". Whatever you start with is generally all you need, unless your Marine has a weapon that has no telescopic sight.

In Campaign mode, you'll be constantly under the gun to get to rendezvous points before enemies appear and wipe you out, so you won't have much time to explore. It doesn't matter much anyway -- you have preset weapons in each mission (you cannot select your gear before a mission).

What you find is what you should make due with.

Where possible, carry a marksman weapon (weapons with telescopic sights). You will be playing most of the game through a high-powered hunting scope unless you happen to modify your game and make yourself invulnerable (you PC guys know what we're talking about).

Speaking of weapons, the damage curve of Operation Flashpoint Dragon Rising done by all weapons is very high. A stray shot will kill you on any difficulty. That said, your key strategy is to engage enemies as far as away and as brutally as possible.

Use marksmanship weapons where possible (they have telescopic sights) and stick to semi-automatic fire for greater accuracy. If you must get close, fire from the hip (don't sight down the barrel) and move with your team to maximize your firepower.

If an enemy is shooting at you, that means they can see you and they can shoot you. This also means that they are vulnerable if you choose to fire back. Of course, the ideal solution is to be able to attack with impunity.

Because of the dense vegetation on the island, sometimes you cannot see enemies (but they can see you). Don't be afraid to use your soldier's Enhanced Reality HUD to find the red dots (enemies) on your compass and zero in on your suspected targets.

Failing to find enemies, you can wait for them to fire. Enemy PLA tracers are green while your own tracers are orange. Using this technique and the red dots on your HUD's compass, you can zero in on enemies and take them out.

However, don't fire unnecessarily just to get enemies firing tracers. Tracer bullets still kill, so if you can spot enemies without alerting them the better off you are.

The enemy A.I. will drop and attempt to evade fire. Fire near enemies if there are too many bullets coming from there. Just getting the enemy to go prone will take up valuable seconds so they can't fire (similar to your chracter going prone, getting up, etc.).

Emptying your magazine into an enemy is also vital when fighting them up close and you're aiming dead center mass. Almost all "official" combat troops wear some sort of body armor, so you should not stop firing until they are seriously injured (and writhing on the ground) from your own weapon.

When your character is seriously injured, a red circular meter will appear (a timer) as well as the "thud-thud" sound will reach your ears. If you can still move, your injuries are life-threatening, but you will die without first aid. If you cannot move (are incapacitated on the ground) then you will need another teammate to apply a dressing.

Fire team leaders (in campaign) can call for their team's medic (if there is one) to treat injuries, but everyone should have a field dressing kit they may use to stop the bleeding and keep fighting.

Quasi-permanent injuries to the character's arms, legs, head, and chest will have various detrimental effects (like disabling sprinting, decreasing accuracy, screwing with lensflare, etc.). If you are playing on Normal, these symptoms disappear once you reach and activate a checkpoint.

Friendly fire is lethal. While your enhanced reality HUD will display a blue cross over friendly targets, you may still open fire on your own allies. While killing allies is a valid method to restock ammunition, etc. before you hit a checkpoint on Normal, it's tabulated in your profile's career record.

Still, a checkpoint saves your ammunition and weapons. If you're feeling particularly ruthless, go right ahead (on Normal only!), kill your teammates, take the weapons you want (bots have nearly infinite ammunition) and hit the CP to get them back. Creepy!

Because enemies react differently, engagements may sometimes come out in your favor. Sometimes just going about an objective from another direction or with different weapons gets you better results than before.

However you do it -- take note and assess your current situation. If you come out on top (objective completed without too many injuries, etc.) then take it and go. If an enemy tank blows itself up and opens the way forward for you, take it and go. It might be stupid, but it got you past those weird spots. Just take your winnings and run!

There will be missions where enemy patrols will come out in force, or there's a time limit. Don't dawdle too long (mission 1 is about the only one you can do that on).

If you miss a window or some other rendezvous, you may find enemies reacting to the new disturbance and come looking for you. Always keep on the move. Even if you are not going to an objective, head somewhere else to explore.

White squares (buildings) on the map are always good since they sometimes mask weapon drops and ammunition crates.

Don't neglect your fireteam. Although you can order them individually on the tactical map, it's far better to keep them near you so you have more guns to bring on the enemy.

In those giant firefights, your four guns are all that you can rely on -- and since we've all watched Bruce Willis in Tears of the Sun, there's no way for four Marines to take on forty (let alone four hundred) armed soldiers doing a kaiten suicide rush.

Nibble at large groups from far away and do your best to even the odds before you close up. If you don't, the DOD might as well dispatch four more letters of bereavement (until you checkpoint).

There is brutal logic in much of the game. Standing up and sprinting across a field will get you noticed by enemies. Similarly, crawling prone in tall grass is stealthy and gives your accuracy a great boost.

Semi-automatic fire is much more manageable by your character than full automatic. When getting your dope, go prone (where possible; kneeling is often good enough execpt for very far engagements) and fire single shots slowly (like plinking).

Tighten up the formation to avoid getting spotted (and naturally, hold fire). Is your team behind you in a column? Then you may want to change formation if enemies are coming at you from the front (or they can't fire).

Think before you act. Chances are, you're missing something if you're having a harder than average time of things.